


Always expect the unexpected

by Autumn_Raven



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Developing Friendships, Down and Out Draco Malfoy, F/F, F/M, Female Draco Malfoy, Fluff and Angst, Healer Hermione Granger, Minor Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 16:35:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,795
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20439122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Autumn_Raven/pseuds/Autumn_Raven
Summary: After Harry accidentally gets Draco Malfoy pregnant he has a lot of big decisions to make. Draco just wishes that the universe would give her a break. A story of unexpected friendships, babies, and bad tempered cats.





	1. Bad news

Katie's tea shop was a small café in London. It was run by a little old lady who reminded Harry of McGonnagal and it was known for its delicious sandwiches and it's welcoming attitude. Katie's tea shop was also the place where he was currently receiving some of the worst news that he had ever received.

” I'm sorry, you're what?”

Malfoy rolled her eyes and sighed irritably “I'm pregnant Potter. Please do try to keep up. I'm aware that you are not particularly intelligent but you're giving Greg a run for his money at the moment.”

” And I'm the father,” Harry was starting to hope that this was all a rather unpleasant dream. Knowing his luck it probably wasn't, but he didn't think that there was anything wrong with hoping.

” Unfortunately you are the only person that I've slept within the last six months. And Merlin knows what a huge mistake that was.”

Harry mind started to race. He had thought that fate would give him a break after the war was over, but that was evidently not the case. Merlin, she was pregnant. He could barely take care of a crup, let alone a baby. Not to mention that she was Malfoy, and she probably still hated his guts.

He wasn't sure what he thought of her. She wasn't as much of a bitch now that the war had ended, but they also had a lot of history. How could you raise a child with someone who had bullied you for most of your childhood?

Harry hadn't told Ron and Hermione about him sleeping with Malfoy. Mainly because he was desperately trying to forget it himself. He had been drunk. Very drunk, and all he had wanted was a one night stand; in his addled state, he hadn't considered that shagging his former nemesis was probably an incredibly bad idea. Harry decided that he would never drink again. He made very bad decisions when he was drunk.

”Hey. Earth to Potter. You know, it's awfully rude to ignore a woman when she's in the middle of telling you that you got her up the duff. Not that I would expect you to know basic manners but that's beside the point.” She sat up straighter and reached over to take his hand.

” Listen, I know that this has come as a shock to you. Believe me, I almost pissed myself when I found out. You don't have to decide anything yet. You don't even have to be involved in the baby's life. I just thought that you would like to know,” Malfoy had an uncharacteristically kind expression on her face. She looked almost pretty when she wasn't glaring at him.

Harry frowned. Since when had he thought of Malfoy as pretty? With her sharp features and lanky frame, she was definitely not his ideal woman. He did have to admit that she had certainly improved since the war through. She no longer looked half-starved and the dark circles under her eyes had decreased significantly.

” Listen, I'm going to need some time to think about this. I mean, how do I even know that you're telling me the truth?” he said. 

” Ah yes, because I would gain so much from lying. Potter, I don't like this anymore then you do. If you really think I'm lying then you can come to St Mungos with me. I can guarantee you that they'll tell you the exact same thing I am. I'm pregnant and you're the father,” she said, a sneer replacing the soft expression that she had just moments before.

” I'm sorry, I'm still not used to us having a polite conversation. Can I have a few weeks to think about it?” Harry smiled nervously at her.

” That's fine Potter. Just know that I'm going to raise this baby with or without you, it's up to you to pick which one it's going to be,” she brushed a strand of blonde hair away from her face “Just don't wait too long to give me an answer.”

With that she got up and walked out of the café. Harry sighed. He had a lot to think about.


	2. Oh how far the mighty have fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Draco struggles with being disowned by her father and makes two unlikely allies.

Draco shivered. The bed in the room she was staying in was definitely the most uncomfortable thing she had ever slept in. The blankets were cheap and did nothing to stop the winter chill. She pulled them closer to her anyway.

Fuck Potter. If it wasn't for him and his stupid cock she would be safe and warm in her bed at the Manor. Not here, in this filthy hovel. The prat hadn't even had the decency to take responsibility for his mistakes. She could still remember the last time she saw him. They had met at a muggle park, and he had done exactly what she thought he would. Didn't mean it hurt any less. 

He had told her that he wasn't ready to be a father, and he was very sorry about that, but he wished her and the baby all the best. She told him to fuck off. Despite all her assurances that it was his choice, Draco had secretly been hoping that he would want the child. It would make everything so much easier. 

Her father had disowned her after finding out she was pregnant. Apparently, she had shamed the Malfoy name by “getting pregnant out of wedlock, like a common whore.” He had said it as if it wasn't him who had led the wizarding world to despise the Malfoys. As if he wasn't responsible for the pain and suffering of thousands of innocent muggles and wizards. 

She couldn't believe that she had actually looked up to that bastard as a child. She was disgusted with herself. If only she hadn't bought into his whole pure-blood mentality then maybe she wouldn't have the dark mark tattooed on her arm. The ultimate reminder of all the reasons that she was an awful person. 

Draco hated her tattoo. Because of that tattoo every time she tried to apply for a job she was rejected and laughed at. Because of her dark mark, her child would probably spend their whole life being judged for the sins of their mother. 

If she managed to make sure they survived, that was. Draco laughed bitterly. She had no idea how the hell she was supposed to raise a child when she had next to no money, most of which she was using to pay for this godforsaken room. That was why she had hoped that Potter would want the child. Because maybe then, they would actually have a good life. Better to be the child of the golden boy then the death eater.

She couldn't even remember the last time she had washed. She probably looked filthy but there wasn't anything she could do about that. They charged extra for use of the shower. It was probably bug-infested anyway. 

Draco was just about to get up and put something warmer on when there was a knock at the door. She picked up her wand and walked apprehensively to open it. Who would be visiting her? It wasn't as if she had anyone who cared about her any more.

To her immense surprise, it was Granger and Weasley stand on the other side of the door. Weasley looked as if he wanted nothing more than to not be there but for some reason, Granger had a determined look on her face.

“Has Potter sent you to look for me? I thought that he didn't want anything to do with the baby,” Draco said.

Granger gave her a strained smile. “Actually Harry doesn't know we're here. We want to talk to you.”

“Really? Whatever could you want to talk to me about?” It was a testament to how tired she was that she didn't try to stop them when they pushed past her into her room.

“Merlin, this place is a right dump,” Weasley said, scrunching up his nose in disgust.

“Ron! I told you to be polite. Sometimes it's like you were raised in a barn.” Draco smirked. She had always known that Granger would be the bossy one in a relationship. If that was what they were like normally then what would they be like in bed? Grimacing, she figured it was probably better not to think about that. 

“So what have you come to talk about?” she asked. “I can't wait around all night for you, you know.”

“Sorry. It's just that Harry told us about the baby and his decision,” Granger said. She was fidgeting awkwardly with her sleeve. Draco had never taken her for a fidgeter but then again, she had been wrong about a lot of things before. 

“And the thing is if this really is Harry's baby, then we want them to have a good life.” Draco felt her insides turn to ice. 

“If you're implying that you're here to take away baby then I would suggest that you leave. Quickly, before I hex you,” she said. Her face was pale. 

“No, no. That's not it at all,” Granger appeared to have realized what that sounded like because she rushed to defend herself. “We would never do that to the mother of Harry's child.”

“That is if it is actually Harry's child. I'm still not convinced,” Weasely said. 

“He is. You can even do a spell to check if you don't believe me. I mean, you are training to be a healer, are you not?” Draco said, turning to Granger. 

“You would let me do a spell on you?” Granger said, looking puzzled.

“It's not as if I have anything to lose any more. Go ahead,” Draco said tiredly.

Granger pulled out her wand and performed the necessary wand movements. “Paternitas reprehendo Harry Potter.” Just as she had expected, Dracos stomach glowed a soft gold colour.

“Shit, looks like Harry really did sleep with the ferret,” Weasely said. Granger elbowed him in his side and smiled apologetically at Draco.

“I'm sorry about him. He's a bit insensitive,” she said. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”

“That depends on what you're going to ask me. But by all means, go ahead. I might not answer but its worth a try,” Draco walked over to the bed and sat on it. She was getting drowsy more quickly these days.

“Why are you staying here and not at the Manor? Or at least in a nice flat. I wouldn't think that a dingy room at the worst pub in wizarding Britain would be your style,” she said, fixing her bushy hair into a low ponytail as she spoke.

“While I would love to be at the Manor right now, or as you said, in a nice flat, I'm afraid that's not possible. You see, apparently getting knocked up before marriage is not the Malfoy way. So to correct that little mistake, my father decided to disown me,” she forced a smile.

Granger looked shocked. “But you're his daughter. What kind of monster disowns his pregnant daughter?”

“I'm sorry, have you ever met Lucius Malfoy?” Draco said, sarcasm dripping from her every word.

“But surely you don't have to stay here. Don't you have any friends who would let you stay with them?” The Gryffindor actually seemed concerned about her for some reason.

“All my friends are living abroad now. I'm not allowed to leave the country for the next three years, remember? It was one of the terms of my trial,” Draco sighed and reached up to scratch an itchy spot on her cheek. “Listen, Granger, just say whatever you came here to say. I'm tired and I want to have a nap.”

Surprisingly it was Ron who spoke, he had been rather quiet throughout their whole exchange “Look, Harry is our mate, okay. And that means that we want to make sure that any kid of his will be well looked after. Obviously, they can't grow up in this shit hole. So if you want then you can move in with us. At least, until you get back on your feet.”

Draco and Granger stared at him, shocked. Draco had not been expecting him to say that. Evidently, Granger hadn't either because she was gaping at him, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“You would really allow me to do to that?” She said. Not quite believing her ears. After all, this was Weasley, the boy she had made fun of for years.

“Yeah, I would. You are Harry's baby's mother. Harry is family, so I guess that kind of makes you family as well,” Ron said, a sheepish look on his face.

Feeling overwhelmed and fatigued Draco scrutinized him. She had been so worried about herself and her baby, and it had been such a hard week, and here was someone offering her help. Before she could stop herself she had launched herself into Weasley's arms. Hugging him tightly, as tears streamed down her face.

“Thank you. I'm so sorry I was so cruel to you in school. You're a good sort, Weasley,” she said, speaking between sobs.

He rubbed her back awkwardly. “Well don't thank me just yet. I haven't got Hermione's permission yet,” he turned to look at his fiancé. “What do you think Herm? We can set her up in the spare room. There's plenty of space. Of course, it's up to you. What do you want to do?”

Granger smiled at him warmly “I think that sounds like a nice idea. I'm proud of you Ron.”


	3. It's finally happened, I'm slightly mad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry has a conversation with his mind healer and Draco adjusts to living with Ron and Hermione.

Harry stared morosely at the light yellow wall of the mind healers waiting room, slumping down on one of the brightly coloured bean bags. Healer Miller always said that the room was designed to be a cheerful and calming environment, but he wasn't feeling calm or cheerful, so obviously it wasn't working.

Hermione had forced him to see a mind healer after the war had ended. She said she was tired of him repressing his feelings and that he needed to learn to be more “open” with himself and the people who loved him. He wanted to argue that he had been plenty open with her while they were camping, but she wasn't having it.

That was how he had found himself sitting in front of Healer Miller, talking to her about his childhood. Unsurprisingly, Hermione was right. Talking to someone did help and Healer Miller was perfect for him. She was non-judgemental, seemed to genuinely listen to him and nothing that he had said to her had ended up in the paper.

However, he was currently wishing that he had just cancelled this session and stayed home. He didn't feel like talking about the week he was having. He didn't feel like doing much of anything, to be honest. Unfortunately, he had promised Hermione that he wouldn't try to skip sessions, and you didn't cross Hermione unless you wanted to end up on the business end of a nasty hex. 

A tap on the shoulder interrupted his thoughts and Harry looked up to see the kind face of Healer Miller smiling at him. “Shall we go into my office, Harry?” She said. 

He reluctantly followed her and sat down on the light grey sofa, grabbing the small tub of putty she had put out for him. He always felt better talking about difficult topics when he had something to distract him. 

“So Harry, how has your week been?” Healer Miller said, in her quiet voice. He could tell that she could sense that there was something bothering him but was waiting for him to tell her himself.

“Not that great actually,” he said, not wanting to drag things out.

“Oh, and why was that?” She smiled encouragingly at him.

“Well, I did something awful,” he said. 

“What did you do?” She asked, crossing her legs and looking at him intently. 

He looked down at the floor, cursing Hermione for making him do this.

“I got a girl pregnant,” he mumbled quietly.

“I'm sorry, what was that? I'm afraid I didn't quite hear you,” she said.

“I got a girl pregnant. And then I abandoned her and the baby, like the utter prick that I am,” he said, hiding his face with his hands.

“Why did you do that? From talking to you, I always got the impression that you wanted a family.” She seemed puzzled.

“I do. It's just I always thought that I would have kids later on. You know, once I've got all of my shit sorted. I mean, I went straight from an abusive household to a war. I'm still fucked up and I don't want to end up messing up my child because I don't know how to function properly,” he said, moving his hands to his lap.

“I can't even get out of bed, some days. I just feel, stuck. Like all the bad thoughts in my head are pinning me down. Even little things like eating breakfast or having a shower seem like too much effort. Look at me, I'm such a freak that I can't even look after myself. How would I look after a baby?” He started to cry, hot frustrated tears running down his cheeks. He reached for a tissue to blow his nose.

“Hey Harry, we've talked about this. Depression and PTSD don't make you a freak, given all the things that you've gone through it's a wonder that you're even still sane,” her voice had taken on a soothing tone as if she was trying to calm a scared horse.

“Sometimes I don't feel very sane. A sane person wouldn't have left her to raise the baby on her own. Sane people don't feel so completely numb. So fucking empty. A baby deserves a father who doesn't have a panic attack every time he's in a crowded place. Someone who can be there to cheer them on at their Quiditch match. I can't give them that,” he said, his words bitter and angry.

Healer Miller handed him a stress ball, and he squeezed it angrily. 

“What about his mother? Do you think that she'll be able to give the baby a good childhood?”

“Yeah. She used to not be a very nice person, but she's made an effort to change since the war. Her father wasn't the best but I think that she'll be a good mother. And she has a lot of money, so she won't have problems providing for the kid.” Harry realized as he said it that it was true, he really did think that Malfoy would be a good mom.

“Harry, I think that you need to figure out what will be best for both you and the baby. Maybe you can see them at the weekends? If you're not ready to act as a father then perhaps you could just see them for supervised play dates.”

“Maybe, if the mother lets me. But right now I need to focus on getting to a point where I can get out of bed to do that in the first place. I mean, today is the first day that I've gone outside since I found out about the pregnancy,” he said.

Healer Miller nodded. “Well Harry, it seems that our time has run out. I enjoyed talking to you, as always and you've made a lot of progress. I remember the first session that you came to see me, you didn't even think that you needed help. You almost bit off my head when I suggested that you might have depression.”

“Yeah. Thank you, by the way. Having someone to talk to who isn't Ron or Hermione is really nice. This probably sounds weird but sometimes it feels like you help to organise my thoughts,” he said, as he walked out.

“That doesn't sound strange at all. You're welcome, Harry.”

Living with Granger and Weasley was odd. The room they had given her to sleep in was undoubtedly a step up from where she had been sleeping before, but the atmosphere was tense. They still hadn't told Potter about what they had done, and she could sometimes hear them arguing about it when they thought that she was asleep.

It didn't help that her morning sickness had finally kicked in. Unfortunately for Weasley, she seemed to throw every time she smelled bacon, prompting Granger to ban it from the breakfast table. He still grumbled about it but Draco was very appreciative which was all that mattered really, he would just have to learn to live with it. 

Pregnancy was certainly not fun in the least but it was proving to be very helpful to live with a healer. Granger gave good advice, and she could give Draco the potions that she couldn't afford to buy herself. Slowly but surely she was starting to fall into a comfortable routine. Every morning she would wake up, early and get ready for the day. Then she would sit down for an awkward breakfast and make stilted small talk. After years of fighting, the forced politeness felt strange.

Then she would read one of the muggle baby books Granger got for her. She was currently half-way through “Mommy and me, a guide for single mothers” and she was finding it incredibly patronizing. Most of the advice revolved around trying to find the baby a good step father. As if anyone would want her now.

After she had given up on reading she would scour the Prophet for jobs. Anything was better than nothing. The few job interviews she had got had mainly been old perverts who didn't care that she was an ex death eater because she was a female and desperate enough for a job that she wouldn't report them for trying to grab her tits while she was trying to clean their homes. She gave up searching for a job after she answered one of the advertisements and opened the door to find Greg's father leering at her. She still shuddered when she thought about it. Bloody pervert. 

One of the biggest surprises that she had encountered while living with them was that they had a cat. Not any cat, it would seem, but a majestic hot-tempered, ginger cat. He reminded her a bit of Weasley. The creature had taken quite the shine to Draco and would often be found curled up in her lap, purring as she stroked him.

The first time it had happened, Granger had walked in and stared at them for several seconds, her face slack with shock. It had irritated Draco, her emotions had been all other the place recently, and she had snapped at the woman “Oh for Merlin’s sake Granger, why are you looking at me like that? I'm stroking your cat, not sacrificing your new born.”

“Sorry. It's just that Crookshanks is normally quite grumpy and he doesn't really like people. This is just a bit unusual, that's all,” she had said, still seeming a bit shaken.

“Seriously Granger, a beautiful tom like this one and you call him a vulgar name like Crookshanks? Poor thing. He's obviously just upset that he didn't get the gorgeous name he deserved.” Granger rolled her eyes at her.

“Is that why you've been so rude all these years? A bad name?” She said teasingly.

“Says the woman named Hermione, I don't know what your parents were thinking with that mouthful. You've most likely lost count of the number of people who've mispronounced it,” she retorted, smiling. It felt nice to be having a normal conversation for once.

“That's true, I still shuddered thinking about the mess that Viktor Krum made of it,” she said, wincing “If you don't mind me asking, why did your parents call you Draco. I mean, isn't that a boys name?

“It's fine. It was because my father was certain that he was going to have a boy, every firstborn Malfoy before me had been, so he had no reason to think that it would be different with me. When it turned out that I was a girl, he couldn't be bothered to pick something else so I ended up as a girl with a boys name,” she sighed. 

“I actually used to be rather sensitive when it came to my name. That's why are I was so rude when your Weasley insulted it when we first met. I mean, I was also a little shit but it was mainly that.”

Granger looked at her with an unidentifiable emotion in her eyes. “Why didn't your mother do anything, Draco?” She asked. 

“My mother had just given birth, she was hardly in the right state to start coming up with girl names. Even if she had been, I'm not sure she would have gone against my father. She loves me, but she's scared of my father, and fear tends to be a stronger motivator than love,” Draco said. Then she thought of something “Wait. Since when do you call me Draco?”

“I mean, you do live with me after all. I can't just keep on calling you Malfoy forever. That would be rather peculiar, don't you think?” 

“Okay, then I suppose I shall start calling you Hermione,” she said. 

“Yes, I suppose so,” Hermione said, smiling warmly at her.

After that, Hermione was a lot less cautious when it came to talking to Draco, and Ron seemed to follow suit. It was like a barrier had been removed, and they could finally cross it and find out what they had been missing all this time. 

It turned out that Ron was actually a lot smarter than she had thought he was, and he was something of a genius when it came to chess. They had quite a few interesting matches, and he had commented on how nice it was to finally have someone to play with who was good at the game. Hermione was, quite frankly horrible at it, much to her annoyance.

Hermione was also different from how Draco had thought that she would be. She was a lot more fun than people thought she was. Once Draco had walked in on her listening to some kind of muggle rock, and dancing along as she cleaned.

When she had asked her about it, Hermione had just smiled and said “Oh yeah, that's Queen. I can show you some of their stuff if you like.”

“That's the Queen? But that was a man,” Draco had said, puzzled.

“No, not the Queen. The bands called Queen. Here, listen.” She had taken out a peculiar muggle device and pressed a button.

A rhythmic beat filled the room and a man started to sing. “Well it's certainly better than Celestina Warbeck. What's this song called?” She asked.

“This is one of my favourites, actually. Its called killer queen,” Hermione said.

“Mm. It sounds like it was based of Blaises mother. Terrifying woman. I'm completely sure that the only reason that she hasn't been arrested already is because even the aurors are afraid of her,” Draco said. Hermione snorted.

“She has quite the reputation. I don't know how she gets men to marry her any more. It's practically a death sentence,” she said.

“Don't tell anyone but I personally suspect that she uses love potion,” she replied in a mock whisper.

The other womens laughter had filled the kitchen, prompting Draco to start giggling uncontrollably. It wasn't that funny but there was just something contagious about Hermiones laughter. 

“You know, it's nice to talk to another woman for once. Most of my friends are boys, which is nice but sometimes it's also fun to talk to other girls,” Hermione said, after she had recovered from her laughing fit.

“What about Rons younger sister?” Draco asked.

“Ginny is great, but all she talks about is Quidditch. Now I don't mind a bit of Quidditch talk but it becomes a little tedious after a while,” she said.

“I love Quidditch but I do agree that if one talks about it too often then it can become a bit dull. Now tell me Hermione, have you ever read Glori cémus per Filium Magia? I was reading it the other day and I thought that you might enjoy it.”

They listened to music and talked about books for a few hours until Ron walked in and interrupted them. They had dinner and Hermione ended up introducing them to television, which seemed be the muggle equivalent of portraits putting on a play.

As she sat on the couch with Crookshanks sprawled on her lap and Ron and Hermione curled up next to her, watching something that Hermione called “Star wars”, Draco realized that for the first time since before the war, she was completely happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I just wanted to say thank you to the people who left comments and feedback, I really appreciate it.
> 
> I hope you've enjoyed this new chapter, and if you haven't then feel free to tell me why not. (constructive criticism is appreciated, insults are not). 
> 
> Oh and Draco and Hermione are my brotp. I'm probably going to focus a bit more on Ron and Dracos friendship in the next chapter though, since I feel like I didn't include it as much as I would have liked, and I want to make sure it's clear that Ron will definitely not be an asshole in this fic.
> 
> Anyway thanks for the kudos, and if you've had the patience to read my rambling then good for you. I tried to make this short and sweet but I think I failed. Oh well. Also as you can tell, I'm slightly addicted to Queen.

**Author's Note:**

> So I decided to finally publish my fanfiction. It's not perfect but I hope you like it anyway.
> 
> Oh and I'm not JK Rowling and I don't own Harry Potter.


End file.
